Tough Act to Follow

Tough Act to Follow

Article excerpt

It's hard to see how Sweden can improve upon its performance at last year's Cannes Film Festival, when helmer Ruben Ostlund's "Force Majeure" became the first Swedish film to win the Jury Prize in the fest's Certain Regard section. Moreover, Hungarian-German-Swedish co-production "White God" nabbed Certain Regard's main award. In contrast, this year's Swedish selections focus more on celebrating new talent and feting an iconic star of the past.

Although Sweden may lack high-profile competitors in the main selection, the country is in the spotlight, thanks to the festival poster adorned by beloved Swedish-born star Ingrid Bergman. A docu about the thesp, Stig Bjorkman's "Ingrid Bergman, in Her Own Words" ("Jag ar Ingrid"), will world-preem at the fest as the opening pic in Cannes Classics. And Bergman's daughter, Isabella Rossellini, will head the Certain Regard jury.